Melania Trump Will Take on the First Lady Role 'Under Her Own Terms'

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The U.S. is 45 days away from inaugurating a new president and Melania Trump is already thinking about her time in the White House. Donald Trump’s first administration was rocky for both of them, but now that she has a handle on the first lady role, the public should prepare themselves for how she’s going to take on that challenge.

It’s already been revealed that Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago will likely be her home base, not the White House, but the duties of the first lady are also something she’s not super interested in. When Melania does participate in an event, it will be “under her own terms,” according to a People source. “She will set her own schedule, make her own rules, and use her own taste. She will do what she wants with Barron’s needs coming first above everything,” they added.

With son Barron, 18, at New York University for his freshman year, Melania will most likely be seen in Manhattan more than Florida when school is in session. The insider noted that she’s not “gung-ho” about the job that has been dumped in her lap for a second time. Melania “will do what she has to do and that is nothing new.” Kate Bennett, author of Free, Melania, told CNN a similar tale after Donald Trump won the election in November.

“She has carte blanche – she can be as active in the East Wing or as inactive as she cares to be,” she said. Bennett doesn’t believe there is a huge demand to see Melania anyway, considering she was largely absent from the campaign trail and there was “the lack of a continuing platform or policy agenda that most first ladies build on” after she left the White House in January 2021.

Kate Andersen Brower, the author of First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies, explained to The New York Times in July 2023 that Melania isn’t interested in the opinions of others either. “She’s the most obviously unknowable first lady,” she explained. “First ladies are expected to want to please people and I’m not sure she really cares.”

That brings us back to the People source who said that America should know what to expect from her. “Will her attitude this term be any different than before?” the insider said. “I doubt it.”

Before you go, click here to see quotes that prove Melania Trump is a lot like her husband.